Refrigerator cabinets having dual service compartments



April 12, 1966 s. SPIELMAN 3,245,740

REFRIGERATOR CABINETS HAVING DUAL SERVICE COMPARTMENTS Filed Sept. 25,1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E f I INVENTOR 5/DNEY 5P/El. MAN

HTTORNEY April 12, 1966 s. SPIELMAN 3,245,740

REFRIGERATOR CABINETS HAVING DUAL SERVICE COMPARTMENTS Filed Sept. 25,1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 64 E 7 66 32; L E 86/ I I T I I I 7 I J I I [A 7INVENTOR. 5/DNY 5P/EL MAN HTTORNEY United States Patent 3,245,740REFRIGERATOR CABINETS HAVING DUAL SERVICE COMPARTMENTS Sidney Spielrnan,287 Linwood Ave., Cedarhurst, Long Island, N.Y. Filed Sept. 25, 1964,Ser. No. 399,197 9 Claims. (Ci. 312--213) This invention relates to acabinet having a refrigerated compartment, as well as a non-refrigeratedcompartment, with independent doors controlling said compartments tothereby provide a dual service feature in the resulting cabinet. Moreparticularly, the invention deals in a cabinet structure, wherein thenon-refrigerated compartment comprises, in part, a unit detachable withrespect to the cabinet. Further, the invention deals with a structure ofthe character defined, wherein said unit is so fashioned as to providemeans for support of a compressor in said non-refrigerated compartment.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from thefollowing description, when taken together with the accompanyingdrawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosedand, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable referencecharacters in each of the views and, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one form of cabinet which Iemploy, with parts of the construction broken away and in section.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the structure shown in FIG. 1, with parts ofthe construction broken away.

' FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail side view of a handgrip rail provided ondoors controlling separate compartments ofthe cabinet.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged diagrammatic section substantially on the line 4-4of FIG. 2, with part of the construction broken away and showing part ofthe door in dotdash lines.

FIG. 5 is an enlargedbroken section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2,illustrating portions of the door structures in dot-dash lines.

'FIG. 6 is a perspective sectional view of the casing portion of theunit illustrated in FIG. 4 detached and with part of the structurebroken away.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view generally similar to FIG. 4, withparts of the construction broken away and parts shown in elevation andillustrating a modified adaptation of my invention, the section beinggenerally on the broken line 7-7 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of one corner portion of the structure shown inFIG. 7, with parts of the construction broken away and in section.

In FIGS. 1 to 6, inclusive, is diagrammatically illus trated one form ofcabinet structure, comprising an outer casing 10, defined primarily by atop wall 11, side walls 12, one of which is shown partially in sectionin FIG. 1 of the drawing, front wall portions 13 and rear wall portions14. The front and rear wall portions include, at their lower ends,inwardly extending flanges 15, with which cushioned feet 16, note FIG.2, or leg members can be attached for support of the cabinet close to orhigh above a supporting surface.

Arranged within the left side of the casing is a refrigerator assemblage17, which fits in an opening formed in the front wall portions 13.Thisis a more or less conventional assemblage, comprising insulated top,bottom, side and back walls, with an open front controlled by a door 18,hinged, as seen at 19 in FIG. 2, and this assemblage forms within thecasing 10 one compartment of the cabinet, namely the refrigeratedcompartment 20, note FIG. 2. This compartment has an upper freezing area21 above a shelf 22, in which ice cube trays 23 are supported for thefreezing of ice; whereas, below the shelf 22 and in 3,245,740 PatentedApr. 12, 1966 close proximity thereto is a defrost tray 24, below whichis the normal refrigeration area 25. In the area 25 is a shelf 26, theforward edge 26' of which terminates short of the door opening tofacilitate storage of tall bottle goods and the like at the forwardportion of the refrigerator.

Considering FIG. 1 of the drawing, it will appear that a conventionaldoor sealing rubber strip 27 is employed and the door 18 can be held inclosed position by suitable magnetic means, as known in the art. Mountedon the upper edge portion of the door 18 and extending longitudinally ofthis edge is a fingergrip rail 28, shown in side elevation in FIG. 3 ofthe drawing. Thisrail is secured at intervals by screws or the like 29and has an outwardly depending and slightly curved portion 30terminating in a rounded lower end 31. This rail facilitates movement ofthe door into open and closed positions. The right side portion of theassemblage 17, or what would be the right wall of this assemblage, isindicated, in part, at 17' in the broken away portion of FIG. 1. Thisside of the assemblage 17, in combination with the right side wall 12,forms the second non-refrigerated compartment 32 of the cabinet, in.which is detachably mounted a compartment or storage unit 33, whichactually forms the service phase of the compartment 32. The unit 33 isformed of three primary parts, namely a container or storage part 34,shown in partial perspective in FIG. 6 of the drawing, a doorframe part35 and a door part 36. The storage part 34 can be formed from a bentpiece or strip of sheet metal defining a top wall 37, a deep back wall38 joining a shallow back wall 39 in a horizontal shelf portion 40 and abottom wall 41. To side edges of these walls can be welded or otherwisesecured side wall portions, one of which is seen at 42 in FIG. 6, andboth of these walls are indicated in partial section in FIG. 1 of thedrawing. The walls 42 have, at their forward edges, outwardly extendingflanges 43, one of these being shown in FIG. 6 and both of these flangesshown in section in FIG. 5. The wall 37 has an outwardly extendingflange 44 at its forward edge and a corresponding flange 45 is on theforward edge of the bottom wall 41.

Considering FIGS. 4 and 6 of the drawing, it will appear that the sidewalls 42 extend from the top wall 34 to a position below the bottom wall41 and below the shelf 40, as seen at 46. It will also appear, from aconsideration of FIG. 4, that the wall portions 39, 40, 41 have sideflanges 39, 40' and 41 and, in like manner, the back wall 38 and the topwall 37 have projecting flanges, as indicated at 37, 38 in dotted linesin FIG. 4, and all of these flanges 37-41 can be utilized in securingthe side walls in position and in forming a sturdy container or storagemember of the unit 33. 3

Considering FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawing, it Will 'ap pear that thedoorframe part of the unit 33 is generally U-shaped in cross-sectionalform, with the channel of the U directed inwardly on all walls. Theopening of the channel is closed on all walls by snap-in facing strips47. It will be noted from a consideration of FIG. 5 that the channel onthe inner side wall of the doorframe or that shown to the left of saidfigure is shallower than the remaining channels of the frame 35.

In assemblage of the unit, the flanges 43, as well as the flanges 44 and45, extend into and are welded or otherwise fixed to the inner sidewalls of the channel of the doorframe 35.

Considering FIG. 2 of the drawing, the door 36 and doorframe 35 arehinged together by hinges 48, which can be the spring-type or the door'36, in combination with the frame 35, can employ magnetic closures, aswith other cabinets of this type and kind, the same as With the closureof the door 18. The door 18 is of sheet metal structure and includesflange portions 49, note FIG. 4,.to which an inner facing sheet 50- canbe welded or otherwise secured. Mounted on the upper edge of the door 36and extending longitudinally thereof is a fingergriprail 28', similar tothe rail 28 employed on the door 18. It will be noted, from aconsideration of FIG. 4 of the drawing, that the doorframe forms acontinuation of the bottom wall41to facilitate storage of two or morebottles in the forward portion of the unit 33, as diagrammatically seenby the bottles 51 in FIG. 1 of the drawing; whereas, the shelf 40 cansupport six or more glasses or tumblers 52, depending entirely upon thesize thereof, or a combination of tumblers and smaller glassware can beso mounted. The innermost side wall 42 of the unit 33 or, in otherwords, the wall adjacent the wall 17 will be fashioned to providemounting of a suitable manually actuated temperature control knob 53 forthe assemblage 17, which would be accessible within the upper cornerportion of the unit 33, or the storage area formed by such unit.

Mounted in the lower portion of the casing between the front and rearwalls 13 and 14 is a bottom wall portion 54 having an upwardly extendingforward flange 55 welded or otherwise secured to the wall 13 and adownwardly extending rear flange 56 similarly secured to the rear wall14. In detachably mounting the unit 33 with the cabinet, screws or otherfasteners, such as 57 can be employed which pass through the frontwall,as well as the flange 55. Attachment of the upper screw or screws57 will be accessible by a cutawayportion 14. in the back wall 14, asnoted in the upper righthand portion of FIG. 4. The back wall,in'registration with the compartment 32, is open and this openingisclosed by an elongated cover 58 secured in position by screws shown, inpart, at 59in FIG. 4. The cover forms a support for the condenser of thecabinet. The cover 58 has a series of vertical openings 60 registeringwith a chamber 61 formed below the shelf 40 and rearwardly of the wall39 of the unit 33. Theopeningsfii are generally similar to the openings60' shown on the front wall 13 in FIG. 2 of the drawing to provideventilation for the cabinet and, particularly, the chamber 61, it beingnoted that the bottom wall 54 has similar openings, one of which isindicated at 60" in FIG. 4.

Suitably mounted on the upper surface of the wall 54 are four or moreposts 62 having screws or other fasteners 63 for mounting of acompressor thereon for positioning in the chamber 61. No showing of thecompressor or condenser is made as units of this type and kind forrefrigerator units, as at 17, are Well-known in the art. Also supportedon the bottom wall 54 are rubber or other supporting blocks 64, uponwhich the portions 46 of the side walls 42 are adapted to bear insupport of the unit 33in the casing structure.

Turning now to the modified structure shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of thedrawing, here a different form of casing 65 is employed, the casingincluding a top wall 66, a bottom wall 67, front wall portions 68 andrear wall portions 69. Supported at the left side of the casing is arefrigerating unit, part of the door of Which is indicated at 70 in FIG.8 of the drawing, as wellas the sealing strip for the door, as at 71,these being in all respects similar to the door 18 and the sealing strip27 of FIG. 1 of the drawing.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, the modification consists primarily in the formationof the container or storage unit 72, which is generally similar inconstruction to the unit 33, with the exception that the unit 72 ispreferably formed of suitable plastic material and comprises two primaryparts, namely a container and storage part 73, including an integraldoorframe part 74. The part 73 is defined by side walls 75, note FIG. 8,a top wall 76, a bottom wall 77, similar to 41, a shelf 78, similar to40, a back wall'79, similar to the wall 38 and a supplemental back wall80, similar to the wall 39. In molding the parts 73,

the doorframe portion has one or two angleiron brackets 81 integrallymolded therewith, as diagrammatically seen in FIG. 7, the bracketsprojecting downwardly beyond the doorframe to facilitate attachment tothe front wall 68, as by screws 82. Upper and lower portions of thedoorframe 74' are molded to form recesses 83 to facilitate attachment ofhinge plates 84 therewith, as by screws 85, as clearly noted in FIG. 7and shown, in part, in FIG. 8 of the drawing. The plates 84 have, attheir free end portions beyond the limits of the frame 74, inwardlyprojecting pivot pins 86.

With the construction shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a molded door 87 ofplastic material is preferably employed andupper and lower surfaces ofthe door are preferably fashioned to form recesses 88, first, for thereception of the plates 84' and also to receive wear bushings 89,'intowhich the pins S6'pass and operate. The door 87 can be magneticallysupported in closed position by suitable magnetic means,diagrammatically illustrated at 90 between the door and doorframe,again, as with other devices of this type and kind. Fingertip rails,such as 28, 28' can be employed in connection with the showing in FIGS.7 and 8 or any other means can be provided for opening and closing thedoor 87, as will be apparent,but the showings of these fingergrips havebeen omitted from FIGS.-7 and 8 in order to simplify the illustration.

The back wall 69 of the casing, in registration with thenon-refrigerated compartment 32' of the showing in FIG. 7, has a largeopening, as at 69', which is closed by a cover 91, similar to the cover58. With the structure of FIG. 7, the compressor, diagrammaticallyoutlined at 92 in FIG. 7, is mounted directly upon the wall 67and isarranged in a chamber 93, generally similar to the chamber 61.; It willalso be apparent that the upper portion of the unit 72 is supported inconnection with the casing 65rby one or more screwsyas diagrammaticallyseen at 94 in FIG. 7 of the drawing. The unit 72 provides forstorage ofbottles, glasses or the like, as with the unit 33 shown in FIG. 4 of thedrawing.

With units of the type and kinddisclosed, beverages of various. typesand kinds stored:in the units employed become accessible and directlyassociated with the ice cubes of the refrigerated compartment, it beingfurther apparent that the refrigerated compartment can be utilized forstorage of beverages of different types and kinds kept in a cool state,such beverages as beer, soft drinks, as well as milk and the like. Fromthe foregoing,'it will be understood that a cabinet structure of thetype and kind under construction-will fulfill a much needed want,particularly in keeping associated beverages and the like at one fixedstation, thus expediting the servicing of the same; It will further beapparent that the non-refrigerated compartment can include means forstoring articles of :various types and kinds. From this. standpoint, thesize and structure of the non-refrigerated compartment can be varied.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A refrigerator cabinet comprising a casing, means forming arefrigeratedcompartment at one side of the casing, means forming anon-refrigerated compartment at the other-side of the casing, the firstnamed means comprising a refrigerator unit having a door giving accessto said unit, the second named means comprising a compartment. formed inthe casing, a storage unit mounted in said compartment, said unitincluding a doorframe portion, a door hingedly mounted in connectionwith said doorframe portion controlling access to the storage unit, saidstorage unit having means for support of bottles and containers therein,said non-refrigerated compartment including means for support of acompressor therein in spaced relationship to said storage unit, saidstorage unit comprising a molded plastic container defined by top,bottom and side walls, offset rear walls 3 joined by a raised shelf, theforward end of the container including an integral portion forming thedoorframe, the door of said unit comprising a molded plastic member, thehinge mounting of the door in connection with the doorframe of saidcontainer comprising hinge plates coupled with the doorframe, and saidplates having projecting portions including hinge pins operating inupper and lower edge portions of the door.

2. A cabinet as defined in claim 1, wherein the door includes bushingsin which the hinge pins are mounted.

3. A cabinet as defined in claim 2, wherein the means for support of acompressor in the second named compartment includes a chamber disposedbelow the shelf of said container.

4. A cabinet as defined in claim 3, wherein the casing has an openingregistering with said last named chamber, and an apertured cover plateclosing the opening in said casing.

of the casing, means forming a non-refrigerated compartment within theother side of the casing, the first named means comprising arefrigerator unit having a door giving access to said unit, the secondnamed means including walls of said outer casing, a storage unitremovably mounted in said non-refrigerated compartment, said storageunit comprising two primary parts, namely a container part and a doorpart, the container part being defined by top, bottom and side walls anddeep and shallow back walls joined by a shelf portion, the front of thecontainer being open, door frame means at the front of the 7 container,hinge means for hinging the door part thereto,

and said non-refrigerated compartment including means means forming arefrigerated compartment in one side for support of a compressor thereinin spaced relationship to said storage unit.

6. A cabinet as defined in claim 5, wherein said hinging means isattached to a doorframe part fixed to flanges at the front of the top,bottom and side walls of the container.

7. A cabinet as defined in claim 5, wherein the casing of the cabinetincludes front wall portions, said front Wall portions below theremovable storage unit being apertured to ventilate the second namedcompartment, said second named compartment having an opening at the rearof the casing, and a ventilated cover closing said last named opening.

8. A cabinet as defined in claim 6, wherein said doorframe partcomprises top, bottom and side channels opening inwardly of thedoorframe, and means for facing and closing said channels.

9. A cabinet as defined in claim 5, wherein said hinging means compriseshinge plates coupled with a doorframe portion of the container part, andsaid plates having hinge pins operating in upper and lower edge portionsof the door part.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,618,527 11/1952Palmer 312-214 X 2,642,728 6/ 1953 Thomras 62-45 7 X 2,958,210 11/1960Rill 312214 X 3,160,452 12/1964 Rothman n 312236 FOREIGN PATENTS 905,2249/ 1962 Great Britain.

CHANCELLQR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner

1. A REFRIGERATOR CABINET COMPRISING A CASING, MEANS FORMING AREFRIGERATED COMPARTMENT AT ONE SIDE OF THE CASING, MEANS FORMING ANON-REFRIGERATED COMPARTMENT AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CASING, THE FIRSTNAMED MEANS COMPRISING A REFRIGERATOR UNIT HAVING A DOOR GIVING ACCESSTO SAID UNIT, THE SECOND NAMED MEANS COMPRISING A COMPARTMENT FORMED INTHE CASING, A STORAGE UNIT MOUNTED IN SAID COMPARTMENT, SAID UNITINCLUDING A DOORFRAME PORTION, A DOOR HINGEDLY MOUNTED IN CONNECTIONWITH SAID DOORFRAME PORTION CONTROLLING ACCESS TO THE STORAGE UNIT, SAIDSTORAGE UNIT HAVING MEANS FOR SUPPORT OF BOTTLES AND CONTAINERS THEREIN,SAID NON-REFRIGERATED COMPARTMENT INCLUDING MEANS FOR SUPPORT OF ACOMPRESSOR THEREIN IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO SAID STORAGE UNIT, SAIDSTORAGE UNIT COMPRISING A MOLDED PLASTIC CONTAINER DEFINED BY TOP,BOTTOM AND SIDE WALLS, OFFSET REAR WALLS JOINED BY A RAISED SHELF, THEFORWARD END OF THE CONTAINER INCLUDING AN INTEGRAL PORTION FORMING THEDOORFRAME, THE DOOR OF SAID UNIT COMPRISING A MOLDED PLASTIC MEMBER, THEHINGE MOUNTING OF THE DOOR IN CONNECTION